“Rather than carrying out his plan as promised, Quadrino dangled a shiny prospect in front of his victims while funneling their money into a scheme to defraud others and enrich himself,” said William Sweeney, Jr., assistant director of the FBI’s New York field office.

Prosecutors said the 51-year-old suspect promised large returns to victims that invested $13.1 million in his three companies—Princess Cut Industries, Inc., Sassy Jewelry Buyers, Inc., and Golden Glitter Trading, Inc.—that he billed as selling gold, jewelry and diamonds to refineries and jewelers.

Instead, Quadrino used the money from new investors to pay “interest” to old investors and spent the money on himself and gambling, according to investigators. The victims lost $6.3 million in the process, authorities said.

Quadrino is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday before Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted.

Timothy Bolger is the Editor in Chief of the Long Island Press who’s been working to uncover unreported stories since shortly after it launched in 2003. When he’s not editing, getting hassled by The Man or fielding cold calls to the newsroom, he covers crime, general interest and political news in addition to reporting longer, sometimes investigative features. He won’t be happy until everyone is as pissed off as he is about how screwed up Lawn Guyland is.